As the demand for wireless data communication using wireless user equipments (UEs) has increased, wireless access service providers are increasingly facing challenges in meeting capacity demands in regions where the density of users is relatively high. To address capacity issues, heterogeneous networks can be deployed.
A heterogeneous network can include various different types of network nodes, including some combination of the following: macro wireless access network nodes that provide macro cells, pico wireless access network nodes that provide pico cells, femto wireless access network nodes that provide femto cells, and relay nodes. A pico cell refers to a cell that has a relatively small coverage area, such as within a building, a train station, airport, aircraft, or other small areas. A femto cell is a cell that is designed for use in a home or small business. A femto cell is associated with a closed subscriber group (CSG), which specifies that only users within a specific group are allowed to access the femto cell. A relay node is used for relaying data from one wireless entity to another wireless entity.